Jacobs baseball edges McHenry

ALGONQUIN – Jacobs had one runner get past first base in the first six innings against McHenry right-hander Andrew Reisinger, and that required three Warriors errors.

So the one-run lead McHenry grabbed in the top of the seventh seemed formidable as Reisinger tried to wrap up a victory.

“We talked about how they still had to get 21 outs,” Jacobs coach Jamie Murray said. “That’s how it works. We kept working together for seven innings and escaped with the win.”

Connor Conzelman reached on an infield hit, Aaron Meciej singled to right field and another Warriors’ error set up sophomore Ryan Sargent to end the game, which he did with one-out fly ball to left-center field.

Sargent’s ball was deep enough for a sacrifice fly, but fell to the grass anyway, giving the Golden Eagles a 3-2 win in their Fox Valley Conference Valley Division baseball game Wednesday.

The loss knocks McHenry (15-9 overall, 9-4 FVC Valley) to one game behind division leader Huntley. The Warriors are now tied with Cary-Grove. Jacobs (16-5, 8-4) is right there as well after its third one-run victory in four games.

“We try to keep our heads up and whatever happens, we just stay as a team and don’t get down on each other,” Meciej said.

McHenry took a 2-1 lead in the seventh when Jack Glosson walked, advanced to second on a wild pickoff attempt by Jacobs starter Reilly Peltier and to third on a double play. He then scored when Meciej had a ball glance off his mitt on a swinging strike and roll to the backstop.

“I didn’t want to get down because of that,” Meciej said. “If you visualize yourself doing well, you will do it. I just wanted to put the ball in play and see what could happen.”

After Conzelman beat out a close play at first, Meciej singled to right. McHenry third baseman Nick Svoboda, who made a diving play on Conzelman’s ground ball, fielded Jon Berndt’s bunt, but his throw was low at first and Nick Ledinsky, running for Conzelman, scored. Meciej advanced to third.

“We had second and third, one out and I was trying to put the ball in the air,” said Sargent, who moved to 4-1 with the pitching victory in relief. “I got a fastball inside and I was able to put the barrel on it and get it to the outfield.”

Center fielder Adam Mattson could not hang on, but would have had a difficult throw to get Meciej. Sargent was credited with a game-winning sacrifice fly on the error.

Peltier struck out six and allowed four hits in six innings. Reisinger (2-3) allowed no earned runs, which dropped his ERA to 1.37.

“We just don’t hit for [Reisinger],” McHenry coach Brian Rockweiler said. “We really probably didn’t deserve to win, making three errors in the first inning. We couldn’t seem to make enough plays today.”

Reisinger saw it as a tough loss for the Warriors to take.

“I hit today, I have to help myself out too,” Reisinger said. “I have confidence in my teammates when they’re hitting. Their hitting has been phenomenal, it’s bad luck that it happens when I’m pitching, but I’m going to compete with them. That’s my team, I want to win it with them.”